OK, so I would never ever drop a med on the floor, pick it up and give it to the patient--but this last week I did tip the med cup over on the patients bedside table, the meds rolled out a bit, I picked them up w/ the cup and gave the patient the meds.
Now, I am a new nurse, and my little pea sized brain is telling me this is bad practice and that I contaminted the pills. But I have seen other nurses do this kind of thing and am wondering if I am being paranoid. And yes, I have been thinking about it ever since...
So my question: at what point do I get new meds from the pyxis? Nursing school would slap my hands and say every time--not sure what real world nurses do.
Stomach acid will take care of most anything picked up from a surface that is not obviously dirty (if the oral and esophageal lining is intact). So, yaeh, I'd have done the same - and have.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Well, my answer to the people on this board is that unless the table was covered with urine, feces or blood, I would have probably administered it myself as well. But, for the powers that be, my answer would be if you see them around, to throw away the pill and obtain another one.
For that matter, I've dropped pills in the floor before and have had my pts. say "Oh, don't worry about it! You don't need to get me another one, I'll take that!" Well, since it was on the floor I gave it to the pt- J/K! I went and got another pill, even though they insisted on taking the dropped pill. But I've dropped them on the bedside table or on the pt's gown/bed before and gave them. Good luck to you! Don't sweat the small stuff!
Dropped on the floor I will replace it. No matter that the patient insist on taking it. Now I have patients deliberate pour them on the table, on the bed clothes in their hand in my hand etc. Haven't have one get infected because of it.
The other night I had a LOL ask me to break her Norco in half, which I did. She dropped both halves into her white bed sheets, and of course the darn pill was white. Her sheets weren't contaminated with body fluid, she didn't stink, and I sure as heck didn't want to do a narcotic waste. What if she found them later, after I had given a new Norco, and took them?
Yikes!!! My butt would have been barbecued!!! :mchmrdnc:
jojotoo, RN
494 Posts
Five second rule?